The present invention relates to an electrical system of a motor vehicle.
Usually, only a tow bar or a tow rope is required for towing a vehicle. Likewise, an electrical connection between two vehicles in the form of a jumper cable is known, which serves to render a towing-away operation unnecessary. When a vehicle pulls a trailer, an electrical connection is also provided temporarily, in addition to a mechanical connection, for the voltage supply and control of a lighting system and direction indicator light mounted on the rear end of the trailer when the latter is being pulled.
It is the object of the invention to provide a suitable electrical system for a motor vehicle, which system requires a voltage supply during a possible towing operation.
According to the invention, an electrical system of a motor vehicle is provided, wherein a voltage-supply control device recognizes the provision of an external voltage supply, in particular by way of a towing vehicle for the motor vehicle, and controls the voltage supply in the motor vehicle such that only one or more subsystems of the entire electrical system of the motor vehicle (a subset of the subsystems) are supplied with voltage. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described herein.
An aspect of the invention involves supplementing the electrical system known from the prior art with a voltage-supply control device. The voltage supply control device recognizes the provision of an external voltage supply, in particular by way of a towing vehicle for the motor vehicle to be towed, and controls the voltage supply in the motor vehicle such that only one or more subsystems of the entire electrical system of the motor vehicle are supplied with voltage.
In this way, those components of the vehicle to be towed, the operation of which is necessary or meaningful during the towing-away operation of the vehicle, can be selectively supplied with voltage. The selective provision of an external voltage supply, instead of a mere electrical coupling of the electrical system of the towing vehicle with that of the vehicle to be towed, further reduces the risk of feeding electrical power into damaged vehicle components. This reduces the risk of short circuits and thus vehicle fires. Furthermore, the voltage supply of the towing vehicle is used only to the extent actually necessary for towing.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.